"You Signed My Death Warrant" – Ex Disney CEO on The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Patrick Bet-David (0:00)

You were set up to go up there, to take the heat, to say, oh my god, we need Iger back. Sometimes CEOs don't want to give up the throne and they want to be missed. And there is an internal battle between, not a founder, but a CEO. Founder wants the business to grow forever. CEO is kind of like, man, you know, I want the next guy to transition to do better than me, but man, I also don't want them to forget about me because I've been so important for 38 years, right of a lifetime. I've read Right of a Lifetime multiple times as well. It's a phenomenal book on what he did. It's a great story of all the deals that he did.

But then set him up, leave, and this time around that he wants to leave, he truly wants to leave, and he learned from the mistake on the way he did it to set him up in a different way. How do you process it?

Bob Chapek (0:42)

I think it's a different time in his life.

I think he got a taste of retirement or frankly, aka less relevance, and I don't think he liked it. And I think he immediately knew during that interview that he didn't like being the color commentary guy. He wanted to be the play-by-play guy. I think after three more years of it, and frankly, a rough three years, because stock prices, when he left, it's pretty much where it was when he got it. So three years and no growth while the rest of the market's exploding, he realized, oh, you know, the post-COVID world is really kind of tough. And so I think he was a lot more willing to smile at Josh and give Josh the reins and support Josh. And by the way, after doing it to me, he couldn't do it twice, for sure. So I think he was a lot more ready, and I think you can look at it in his face.

By the way, that happened on the first day of the job. So it wasn't like I did anything to earn that. It just was the situation that I walked into. And, you know, that was the first of many.

Patrick Bet-David (1:47)

He looked miserable.

Bob Chapek (1:48)

He looked miserable.

Patrick Bet-David (1:48)

He looked miserable sitting next to you.

Bob Chapek (1:50)

And I knew that I was going to have a rough time, and then it just started piling on. But the one that really...

SPEAKER_3 (1:55)

Do you feel like you...

Bob Chapek (1:57)

The one that really took it over the top was the...

Patrick Bet-David (1:59)

For now, put it on mute. Put your computer on mute.

Bob Chapek (2:02)

The one that really... When I knew I really had a problem is when he did the New York Times article with Ben Smith via email, and he reasserted himself back as CEO.

Patrick Bet-David (2:13)

That was the weirdest article.

Bob Chapek (2:15)

By the way, I had no idea it was coming.

He didn't tell me. His publicist didn't tell me. And it's my understanding that the board didn't even know that he did that.

Patrick Bet-David (2:24)

Susan didn't know?

Bob Chapek (2:25)

It's my understanding.

Patrick Bet-David (2:26)

Wouldn't Susan need to prove that if you're the executive chairman?

Bob Chapek (2:29)

Yeah, but Bob did this thing that I called management by pronouncement, where just like the Apple iTunes, you don't want to debate it. You just make the announcement. Everybody says, gosh, it's already announced.

It's a very classic tool that he used. And so I'm at home and I, someone calls me and says, you lost your job already? Like, this is a month after I got it and COVID's and I'm just like, and I'm like, what are you talking about? Because Iger just reasserted himself as the CEO in an interview with New York Times. I'm like, what are you talking about?

Patrick Bet-David (3:06)

Is this pre Susan's meeting with you?

Bob Chapek (3:08)

No, no, no. This is after I got the job, but only like a month after I got the job.

Patrick Bet-David (3:13)

Got it.

Bob Chapek (3:14)

And I'm like, what are you talking about? So now, I've got a real tangible idea that he wants his job back. Did you call him? The next day, we had a conversation.

Patrick Bet-David (3:24)

What was that call like?

Bob Chapek (3:25)

Not good. From you to him? I'm very much almost like a military kind of guy where, yes, sir, I'll take the hill. And I never push back. I just say yes, and I'll figure out a way to get it done. This was a little uncharacteristic, and I think I caught him off guard because I said, you just signed my death warrant. You just literally signed my... You told them that. Yeah, I told them, you signed my execution papers because how do I recover from this?